MOSCOW, Feb 19 (NNN-XINHUA) — Oil flow through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system has fallen by about 30 to 40 percent following a Ukrainian drone attack on its largest pumping station in Russia, a senior Russian official said Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and government officials, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the attack severely damaged key infrastructure at the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Krasnodar.
Essential equipment, including a gas turbine unit and an electrical substation, was severely damaged, reducing the station’s operational capacity. Novak said that full restoration of the station is expected to take several months.
The attack on Monday involved seven Ukrainian drones armed with explosives and metal fragments. Although no casualties were reported, the assault caused substantial damage and forced the station to cease operations. However, workers have managed to prevent an oil spill, ensuring environmental safety.
As a result, the oil transportation system has temporarily rerouted oil via an emergency scheme, bypassing the Kropotkinskaya station. While crude oil exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s marine terminal near Novorossiysk remain unaffected, oil shipments from Kazakhstan are expected to decrease by about 30 percent until repairs are completed.
The pipeline system, spanning 1,500 km, connects Kazakhstan’s western oil fields to Russia’s Black Sea coast, where crude is loaded onto tankers for export. — NNN-XINHUA
